"Not available on the App Store" stickers remind everyone about the merits of real life. http://t.co/bNkitjap0H pic.twitter.com/CsrMwc4mc8
— Khoi Vinh (@khoi) April 29, 2014
Had anyone else seen these stickers? I thought they were awesome and a great reminder that not everything can be solved with technology. As literally @techguy on Twitter, this might sound a bit odd coming from me. However, I’ve often said that I think technology can make almost everything better, but that doesn’t mean it should.
In the healthcare IT world, you could solve a problem with technology, but that doesn’t mean it’s always the best solution. In many cases the solution is something much simpler. For example, sometimes you have to trust people. It’s a scary idea for many leaders, but it’s something I’ve seen in the very best organizations. They build a culture of trust that’s incredibly powerful. It’s amazing how many things become simpler when you have trust.
Back to the original picture at the top. I’m reminded of this beautiful story Allison Massari recounted at the CHIME CIO Forum at HIMSS this year. At one point in her story Allison recounted how she was laying in the hospital bed in incredible pain (for those not familiar she had a huge portion of her body burned in a car accident). A nurse came into her room and after seeing Allison realized the extreme pain she was going through. Allison recounted that the nurse stopped what she was doing, gently took her hand and spent a moment with her consoling her.
I love technology as much as the next, but there’s no app that looks into someone’s eyes and sees their pain. There’s no app that will stop and hold your hand and console you.